Are you tired of hearing, “When will we ever use this type of math?” Explore the world of applied math with these math projects for high school students.
High School Math Project Ideas by Subject
Math projects are an ideal way to increase your students’ enthusiasm for math.
Math is not a dull subject! With these math projects, students will use the skills of research, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
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Algebra Math Project Ideas
These algebra math project ideas for high school bring algebra into the real world.
Modeling Real-World Situations
Are your students interested in the population of endangered species? Or the growing population of the planet?
Are they curious about investing and seeing their money grow?
Teach them to create mathematical models of real-life situations and use these tools to analyze the data.
Data Analysis and Statistics
Students can collect data on a topic of interest, such as sports, weather patterns, or social media usage, and perform statistical analysis using algebraic techniques.
They can create scatter plots, calculate regression lines, analyze correlation coefficients, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
Fantasy Football Mathematical Modeling
Do you have students who love fantasy football?
Give them an edge by incorporating algebra!
Students can use algebraic concepts to analyze various aspects of the game.
They can explore topics such as scoring trends, player performance evaluation, or game strategies using mathematical models and statistical analysis.
Algebraic Art
On graph paper, students can plot various algebraic functions (linear, quadratic, or exponential).
(You could also use a digital graphing program.)
Where the functions overlap, color the shapes.
Explore symmetry, transformations, and creativity through this combination of math and art!
Financial Literacy Project
Students pick a future career and a hypothetical budget based on that income.
Use algebraic equations to calculate savings, loan payments, and interest.
Explore the concepts of compound interest and debt repayment.
Geometry Math Project Ideas
These geometry math project ideas for high school highlight all that is weird and wonderful about shapes!
Exploring Fractals
Fractals are fascinating! They involve a shape that branches into smaller versions of itself.
They are found in nature (think ferns and snowflakes), have applications to tech, and make for incredible artwork!
Check out some digital art involving fractals.
Students can research and create visual representations of different fractals, such as the Sierpinski Triangle, Koch Snowflake, or Mandelbrot Set.
Investigating Polyhedra
Students can study different types of polyhedra, such as platonic solids or Archimedean solids.
They can construct physical models (straws and pipe cleaners, anyone?).
They can also use software to explore their properties, such as the number of vertices, edges, and faces.
Students can learn about their various patterns of symmetry.
Designing a Geometric City
Students can design a fictional city using geometric principles.
They can create a layout for the city, incorporating different shapes, angles, and proportions.
Make the project cross-curricular by creating a story of life in the fictional city.
Urban Planning
Students can explore how geometric concepts are applied in urban planning and architecture.
Which cities of the world are the most geometric in their design?
Which architectural styles are the most “Euclidean”?
Analyzing Tessellations
Students can investigate tessellations and their properties. This is an excellent jumping-off point to the various types of symmetry.
They can create their own tessellation patterns using regular polygons or explore famous examples of tessellations found in art and nature.
Geometry in Art
Students can explore the relationship between geometry and art.
They can research different artists who incorporate geometric principles in their work, such as Piet Mondrian or M.C. Escher.
(You can even find fractals in Jackson Pollock paintings!)
They can analyze the use of symmetry, proportion, and geometric shapes in these artworks.
Go one step further and have students create their own geometric art pieces.
Calculus Math Project Ideas
Calculus helps us understand our world. Make it come alive with these calculus math project ideas for high school students.
Optimization Problems
How does calculus intersect with the real world? Knowing calculus can save money!
It has implications in product design and even backyard projects!
Students can explore optimization problems by finding functions’ maximum or minimum values in various contexts.
They can explore real-world scenarios, such as maximizing the volume of a box given a fixed amount of material or minimizing the cost of constructing a fence.
The Trouble with Tribbles
(Okay, okay, this is a Star Trek reference no student will likely get.)
You can riff on this episode with fun exponential growth or decay scenarios.
(In fact, Fibonacci himself conceptualized his sequence by imagining a colony of rapidly mating rabbits.)
Students can use calculus to analyze the growth or decay of their imaginary species.
The Shape of Water
Calculus is geometry’s much cooler big brother.
Bring in three-dimensional shapes (like water bottles, bowling pins, etc.) and show students how to find the surface area of these shapes using integral calculus.
They can then try it on their own!
Calculus in Physics
Students can explore the application of calculus in physics problems.
They can choose topics such as motion, forces, or energy and use calculus concepts to analyze these phenomena.
Have them give a demonstration of these applications to the class.
Calculus in Engineering
Students can explore how calculus is used in engineering applications.
They can choose topics such as fluid flow, structural analysis, or electrical circuits and use calculus to model and solve engineering problems.
Have them give a demonstration of these applications to the class.
Calculus in Tech
Explore how technology uses calculus (for example, GPS and image processing).
Analyze algorithms and mathematical models. What are the limitations? How can this technology improve?
High School Math Project Ideas
These math projects for high school will help your students see the purpose (and fun) in math).